MORE than £2.3m of National Lottery funding has been awarded to a Brightlingsea sailing charity which helps young people get on the water.
The Pioneer Sailing Trust, a registered charity, helps improve the life prospects of young people who have dealt with difficult circumstances by providing them with learning opportunities on sea and land.
The charity has now been given a grant worth £2,316,889 which will be spent on equipping apprentices and trainees with new skills and restoring and maintaining historic vessels.
The funding will also be spent on the “unique apprenticeship scheme” by developing complimentary digital learning content.
Felicity Lees, director of operations at the trust, said: “We are absolutely ecstatic about the bid which we have been working towards for three years.
"Instead of just doing one thing, we want to provide lots of different opportunities from being out on the water, to doing apprenticeships to volunteering."
Felicity said that the trust helps provide "meaningful activities" for young people with often difficult life circumstances, and added: "The experience of going out on the water is very different for some people".
"At the very least it can help them with their confidence and for others it can be life changing. The whole reason we are doing this, is so we can build something that is sustainable and provide training pathways to be a community hub."
Felicity said that like many charities, the trust is always fundraising but that this amount of money allows the charity to employ staff and apprenticeships.
The funding will also go towards providing accommodation and travel for people from across the country to visit and learn in one week in Brightlingsea in 'block release apprenticeships'.
The Pioneer Sailing Trust was created in 1999 with the goal of restoring the last remaining first class Essex Skillinger smack Pioneer ship but since 2005, the vessel has served as a training boat for young people.
The National Lottery Heritage Fund has secured £14.8m funding for seven projects across Britain that will also deliver hundreds of traineeships, volunteers, and employment opportunities to ensure the future of the UK’s industrial heritage.
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